Many foods such as poultry, meat, fish and vegetables are coated with a light coating of flour or bread crumbs which on frying in oil develops a characteristic crispy, brown-colored coating. However, the messiness involved with the preparation of fried foods, the ever present danger of spattering oil, and the unfavorable dietary aspects associated with fried foods have led to the development of coatings which attempt to impart a fried appearance to a foodstuff which is baked and with the appealing color, taste, and texture associated with fried foods.
U.S. Pat No. 3,586,512 by Mancuso et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 3,843,827 by Lee et al. both prepare a baked comestible with a fried texture and appearance. The Mancuso et al. patent does this by providing a dye system which changes color during cooking, while the Lee et al. patent does this by providing a unique batter formulation and dry-mix coating. Other coatings have been developed for foodstuffs for the same purpose, i.e., to provide a baked food with a surface similar in appearance, color and texture to that of coated, deep, fat-fried foods, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,852,501 by Fazzina et al. However, these coatings rely on high levels of shortening to obtain the desired results.
In recent years, a number of products have been developed and marketed for coating foods prior to baking or frying. Their purpose is to produce the desirable crisp, browned coating. Such products have found considerable market acceptance, especially for the preparation of baked foods which resemble fried foods in appearance and crispness, but avoid the use of oil and other fats. These products work quite well in conventional ovens. However, when used in the recently developed microwave cooking appliances, the resulting product leaves much to be desired.
Since the heat energy in microwave is released internally within the food, the surface remains at a relatively even temperature with the interior. Whereas, in conventional cooking, the external temperature (surface) of the foodstuff far exceeds the internal temperature. Therefore, in microwave cooking the high surface temperatures necessary to achieve browning, dehydration and crisping are never achieved since the internal moisture migrates to the food surface affecting crisping and browning on the surface of the foodstuff.
In an attempt to overcome these problems, the appliance manufacturers have resorted to including radiant browning elements within the microwave chamber. Food coating merchandisers often include brown coloring components in the coating mixers to artifically brown or golden color the food surface. This, however, does not solve the problem of suface crispness.
A further attempt was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,518,618 by Hsia wherein a food coating composition having an ability to produce crisp, brown coatings on food products cooked in microwave ovens was developed. In Hsia, the coating ingredients in combination with salts, such as potassium acetate, potassium chloride and potassium bicarbonate; or potassium acetate, potassium chloride, and sodium bicarbonate produced a crisp-brown coating.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,529,607 by Lenchin discloses a batter composition for the preparation of batter coated pre-fried microwavable foodstuff. In Lenchin a batter mix containing an effective amount of amylase flour is cooked in hot fat or cooking oil, and subsequently cooked to completion by means of microwaving. It is important to note that the batter in Lenchin is coated onto raw chicken and baked. The baked product is then frozen.
The present invention is concerned with an improved, food-coating mix which will produce a crisp, golden-brown, dehydrated surface coating on food products cooked in a microwave appliance without the addition of salts or high amylose flour.
The object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide an improved coating composition which will produce a crisp, golden-brown coating on foodstuff when cooked in a microwave appliance.